Wednesday, January 16, 2013

When I was in my early 20's my paternal grandfather Otis N. LaBree asked me if I would look into his mothers family. I had just started learning about genealogy and recording all the family information. Otis was a very well known Policeman, Detective and later Sheriff in Maine. When I was little he told me I loved the trill of the hunt for clues just like he did and encouraged me to go into law enforcement too. Lets just say I have little patience with criminals and instead of chasing after someone I would opt to just shoot them...All I know of Annie Marie Flynn, my great grandmother, came from Otis and his sister Valencia (Babe). Annie died when I was a year old and I wish I had the opportunity to know her. She did not know her own birth date until she was in her 40's and then she didn't even know if it was right. She remembered a family that lived in a tenement section of a large city and that she had a sister and several brothers. Annie would run to the corner to meet her father, his name might have been Richard or maybe Thomas, returning from his job at a local mill and the day he didn't come back. She also remembered the day a horse draw carriage arrived and took her mother away. Thomas her younger brother was taken away with her to an orphanage and maybe another brother. Her sister promised to get them out as soon as she could get a job but she didn't come for them before they were sent away.I can imagine two scared little red headed children being place on a train with orphan children and sent to places all around the country. Annie and Thomas Flynn were sent to Old Town, Maine and offered to the congregation of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, a French community church. They were both taken in by families in the Old Town area as workers on their farms. Both Children would have been under the age of 10 although there are no records of the dated they were sent. Thomas was treated so badly the ran away after a short time with the family he was sent to live with. (see notes under Reunion). Annie was also abused, she told the story of laying in a little bed in the attic room she had been given with a thin old quilt watching the snow as it fell through the holes in the roof. The church took her back because of the conditions and gave her to a new family, the LaBree's of French Island, part of Old Town. As you can picture a little red head, blue eyed Irish girl stood out in a totally French community. She did not speak French in the beginning and records have been found where she had to be reconfirmed in the Catholic Church because of being Irish. Working as a housekeeper for the large LaBree family she began to be amerced in the people and the language. In true Love Story fashion she and one of the families son Elzear (Otis, Sr) fell in love and married just before she turned 18.

They had two children with in three years and were expecting a third when the influenza outbreak of 1918 struck them both. At 8 months pregnant she was carried to the house next door where her husband was being cared for by his family to kiss him goodbye. Otis N. LaBree, Sr died at age 24 on 2 Nov 1918, the last know influenza victim of the area. A widow at 23, sick, with a baby on the way and two toddlers must have been overwhelming. She never complained she made due with what she had, finding work where she could. The matriarch of the LaBree family, Victoria Marcoux, had been against her son marrying Annie and while he was alive did not cause problems. Once Otis, Sr was gone Annie lived with them but when the children were still small moved next door. My grandfather once told me he remembered his grandmother Victoria lining rows of canned goods along a shelf across a window. He could see it from his house next door and even though they had next to nothing she would never offer them a can. She would make their Grandfather, Simeon, come out to yell at them if they were seen trying to take apples from a tree in the yard.When my search for Annie started I knew I was looking for an Irish orphan and her brother Thomas. I did know from family information the orphanage they were in was in Olneyville, Rhode Island and that it had burnt at one point. Her fathers name was questionable and there was no records of her mothers name at all.In 1992 genealogy was not done as it is today. If there was a genealogy program I had not found it. It was all done on paper with visits to libraries, archives, phone calls and letters. After sending letters to every place I could find I finally got a response from the Olneyville Orphanage Assoc. The answer, yes there had been a fire, no they didn't have the records that I needed but all the children had been sent through the Home for Destitute Children in Boston. Twenty years ago the Catholic Church would not talk about their part in the distribution of orphan children and even after several phone calls and letters I got no where. A letter to the research center at the Archives in Rhode Island was my first big break. They kindly photo copied the Vital Records from 1890 to 1910 for Flynn. I was so happy to get that package but in the end learned nothing from it because I did not have enough information to use anything I had been send and no one match my Annie.Finally when all the records started to appear online I found a family in Providence, Rhode Island that matched closely. The only thing that was off was that the three youngest children were born in Connecticut. So I mailed a letter and received the birth records from Connecticut. The first surprise was that Annie birth name was Bridget Ann Flynn daughter of Richard Flynn and Bridget Butler both born Ireland. The second was that Annie's brother younger brother Thomas was actually older then she was. This also confirmed the census record I found.It still took fourteen years to confirm the information. Now all this time later I know most of the story of my Flynn Family.Richard Flynn, Sr b. Feb 1865 in most likely County Tipperary, Ireland and his wife Bridget Ann Butler b. May 1867 most likely Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland left Liverpool, England and arrived in New York in 1890 with sons Edward b. Sept 1887, Ireland and Richard, Jr b. 10 Jan 1889 Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland. They lived in Connecticut where daughter Mary b. 12 jul 1892 in Yantic, New London Co, Connecticut, son Thomas b. Dec 1895 and Bridget "Annie" b 20 jun 1896 were born. Another surprise was that Richard and Bridget were not dead when their children were taken away. I have found both of them in later records. I now believe Bridget was taken to Worcester State Asylum in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was both a place for the mentally ill and an Alma's House for the poor. Because here children were not with her I assume it was an illness either mental or physical.

ReunionsAs I tracked each child and family it because an obsession to put this lost family back together. I first found descendants of Thomas, Jr's family. He had runaway and ended up in Lewiston, Maine working in a Mill. There he married a woman of German ancestry named Rose Benedix and had one child that died as an infant in Maine. They moved to Lowell, Massachusetts where they had one son and two daughters, Thomas, Jr, Alberta and Mildred. Annie and her son Otis did find Thomas in 1935 and drove to meet him once and in turn a few years later he visited them. After that they lost contact again. We have e-mailed several times and were a great help with piecing Thomas' family together.Next I located daughter Mary's descendants, she married an Albert Ratcliffe and had two daughters, Eva and Edith. She died young on 10 may 1932 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Last year I found Richard, Jr and his wife Anna Coffin's grandchildren. Of all the people I have found I was most excited about this group. After phone calls and e-mails we figured out the family spent their early years in Massachusetts and after their fathers early death their mother Grace Flynn, only child of Richard, had moved them just 20 minutes from where I live in Maine. They were only a half an hour from an Aunt and cousins for years and nether family knew it. It was because of Grace's obituary in my local paper that I found this family. We now keep in touch by facebook. On a side note Richard Flynn was also sent to an orphanage and was never sent away with his siblings because he ran away. It made all of the Flynn children move away from religion and specifically the Catholic Church. I now have located everyone but the oldest Edward. He has never been found beyond the 1900 Rhode Island Census. As more records become available I might just complete the circle and bring us all back together. So now I am searching the records of County Tipperary, Ireland and hoping I can find just one more generation on this family. Maybe by putting this story out there another Flynn will find me!Hope you find your family too,Michele

Sunday, January 13, 2013

So... I am making an effort to combine and organize all my work into one place. I receive many e-mails everyday for help or questions on genealogy and I thought it would be a great idea since I have a new e-mail with this blog to change all my information to the new e-mail.

I started a few days ago and even changed my user names on on my accounts to bring everything together. Of course there is going to be a snag and made everything more complicated than if I just left it alone! ;-{

My Rootsweb account is now stuck. I cannot upload new records, make changes or respond to Post-ems. I also cannot change the message to let anyone know what is going on.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Yes, I am in love with something besides my husband, I will gladly admit it, and my husband is even okay with it!

My love affair with the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) is nothing new. When I was just starting out I would make the 2 hour drive to Fredericton, New Brunswick from Maine and spend my vacation time in the research room of the old brick building. The staff was always helpful, even when I didn't know what I was looking for or when I would bring my husband along and assign him to just copy things I handed him.

I took my mother with me on one trip. She had no real interest in genealogy and I had to make up nicknames for her to remember who people were. I referred to her 2rd great grandfather William Price, Jr as "William the missing", because at the time I had not found his parents, I still call him by title to this day.

We lived in Waterbury, Vermont for three years in the 1990's and I made two 8 hour (one way) trips to the archives just to research a new person.

Then they started an online site, it grew slowly into what it is today, probably the best archive website I have ever used.http://archives.gnb.ca/archives/default.aspx?culture=en-CAI research and write allot about New Brunswick but I have researched all over the US and Canada as well as a few foreign countries. The PANB has records online from 1800-1962 most of them with the original scanned document . Last month they added a Federated Database Search that allows you to search most of the online records at once. Birth (to 1917), Marriage and Death (both to 1962) records are easy to search. You can search by just last name or even the first three letters of the surname. http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/?culture=en-CAThe PANB added an area dedicated to Irish research a few years ago.http://archives.gnb.ca/Irish/exhibits_en.htmlIt allows you to search arrivals, census and even people who resided at the St. John's Almshouse. Even if you do not have Irish roots you may find your ancestor in some these records. Added last year was some of the work of R.Wallace Hale. I own the Early Probate book and have used it for years. It was wonderful to see the archives add it as a searchable database.

My favorite page overall is the New Brunswick Vital Statistics from Newspapers 1784-1896 transcribed and collected by Daniel F. Johnson (1958-2005). It can be found as a set of 102 books in many libraries around the U.S. and Canada. This database has contributed more to my search than any other I can think of. It has most of the major Newspapers in New Brunswick and is transcribed images (not a view of the orginal). You can search by family name or by a word or place. You will find Births, Marriages and Death as in any newspapers of their time but also the day to day lives of the people of New Brunswick.

Date December 22 1869 County Saint John Place Saint John Newspaper Morning News

The language of the text is the original used in the newspaper entry and as transcribed by Daniel F. Johnson. Records acquired by the Provincial Archives are not translated from the language in which they originate.

MUNROE-VAIL Murder - Judge ALLEN then rose and with much feeling said "You stand convicted of the murder of Sarah Margaret VAIL ... The sentence of the Court is that you (John A. MUNROE) be conducted to the place from whence you came, and thence on Tuesday, 15th day of February next, to the place of execution, there to be hanged by the neck, until you are dead and may God have mercy on your soul" (see original)

If you look to the top right of the database you will see "Full-Text Search" if you click on it, it will take you to a box where you can search for words as individual or combinations. When searching always remember that spelling can be off on surnames as well as regular words. I was searching for an article I had read and I knew it contained the word Polygamy. It didn't come up so I searched by the name and when I found the article the word was spelled polygomy. Also for those of us from "The States" keep in mind that words differ in spelling between Canada (British English) and the U.S., like Colour and Color. I found a good site on the some of differences.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differencesI hope this will be of some help in your search and that you enjoy your trip through the records of one of my favorite places. Take the time to click on each link on the toolbar at the top of the PANB site it will take you to many more options that I have listed here. **Are you working on a family that I have listed marked with a * , + or *+ in the name on my Rootsweb page and want to know more? Let me know I may have notes available that I don't show online. I can also make it into a blog if I have enough on the group.**

Saturday, January 5, 2013

In 2011 I asked my husband and children for DNA tests for Christmas. Sound strange? Not if you know me and my genealogy obsession. I received three DNA tests and excitedly order the first test and waited for it to arrive. Genetic Genealogy or Genetealogy as it is being called is a great tool when you are trying to crack a brickwalls or to find if your research is correct.

I started to read everything I could get my hands on to educated myself. What I would tell you is education first then order a test. I am not going to go into a long explanation about the companies available and which one is best. I choose Family Tree DNA http://www.familytreedna.com/ for two of the test and 23 and Me https://www.23andme.com/ for one. I will explain why later.

If you have already done the testing you will probably not learn anything new here but if you are just starting or even thinking about testing there are a few things you must know first.

Find a good book, there are many that are recommended but if you have just started, I recommend, "DNA & Genealogy" by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Andrew Yeiser, It is basic and easy to understand. I have also heard good things about "Trace Your Roots with DNA: Use Your DNA to Complete Your Family Tree" by Megan Smolenya and Ann Turner. However good these books are they were published over 5 years ago and in Genealogy things can change daily.

I just started reading, "DNA and Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-first Century" by Debbie Kennett's, it gives more information about autosomal DNA and using online sources in your research.

Another recommendation is The International Society of Genetic Genealogy found at http://www.isogg.org/ . Their Newbies section will give you everything you need to know to find the right test and even after to help with your results. There is also a Newbies DNA group on Yahoo http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DNA-Testing/ . You can join both webpages.

Understanding that learning about DNA is just like learning a new language will help you in your journey. At some points I was pretty sure my head would explode with all the new terms and information. I took Biology 1,2 & 3 in High School and even Bio classes in College, although I was a History Major, I understand how it works, that was not the problem. The issue is trying to understanding what your results mean and when you ask for help the answers that you receive will just lead to more question. I found that anyone who has been doing this for a while cant or wont explain things simply. They expect you to already know what they know. If you take this into account and keep asking and searching you will find the answers.

So now you have read and re-read everything and you now have to test someone, it might be easy, like my first test I chose my husband. His Daniels ancestry was one of my brickwalls. Males carry the Y-DNA from their fathers and the MtDNA which is from the mother. Females only carry the MtDNA from their maternal ancestors. Then there is Autosomal DNA which basically allows you to find relatives but no proof of your common ancestor. A good explaination can be found here. http://www.dnainheritance.kahikatea.net/autosomal.html

Remember to keep and open mind and make sure your research will stand up to review. You may find out things you had no idea existed or disprove thing you thought you knew.

Testing will depend on what you are looking for. I was stuck on his ancestor Christopher Columbus Daniels b 1832 Virginia and lived in Ohio. He fought in the Civil War but all but a few pension records are missing. He is found in 1850 Ohio census with his mother and stepfather.

Once you chose your "subject" and the company you want to use, check the surname to see if there is a DNA project for that name. Some offer free or discounted testing.

My first try at DNA testing would be a textbook case of what you want to have happen.

I had a 37 marker test done with Family Tree DNA and the results come back in sections. When the first 12 markers came back much to my luck it was a 12 for 12 match to over 150 people that were tested. The good thing 15 of those were to the Daniel's of Middlesex group. The admin of the group was a wonderful woman named Joyce and I credit her with how easy my first experience with DNA research was. Then the next section came in and the next. My husband and another man in Texas were a full match. It helped prove that a mutation that man carried was specific to one ancestor and we could then track from the original William Daniel b abt 1638 through his son William Jr and to William Jr's son Obadiah. Following each know person down the trail until we found the only person left that could be my husbands ancestor. After years of searching in only 7 weeks the misery was solved and over 200 years of missing genealogy was discovered.For those who understand the breakdown, my husband is an I1 which is of Scandinavia ancestry.

This Daniel's family is a good example of how DNA can change everything you know about your ancestor. William Daniel b 1638 had 4 known sons who lived to adulthood. The oldest two William Jr and Robert are from a unknown 1st wife and James and Richard were thought to be from his 2nd marriage to a Jachebed. What DNA proved is that the 3rd son James was in no way related to William Daniel Sr. His DNA is matched to a Davis family. We will probably never know if William knew that James was not his biological son.

My next test was for me through 23 and Me, although they offer autosomal Testing, I was more interested in their health testing. I could have tested my MtDNA that would be my mothers, mothers, mother, ext. My furthers known maternal Mtdna ancestor was Hanna Sofia Conge born 1737 in Germany. At this point I am not interested in researching her line.

I have had some matches from my test for family members but in the 20 people I contact I heard back from 5 and we have never been able to find the connection. I am an H and 100% European ancestry.

What was great about the testing is medically I know know what I carry and what I can pass on to my children. My maternal grandmother and my mother both died of breast cancer and one maternal and one paternal aunt have been diagnosed. I have had yearly mammograms since I was 34 years old but thanks to DNA testing I know I do not carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation for early onset breast cancer. It does not mean I can stop being careful. The testing is a guide, something to add to your knowledge.

The final test has been a wild and bumpy road. My great uncle was kind enough to allow me to have his DNA tested for one of my Price lines. At 89 he was excited to find out what answers his DNA could offer. Unfortunately he passed away just 4 days after the test was sent in.

When the test results came back it was determined that he was an R1b1a2 which is one of the most common European ancestries. Further testing found he was in a smaller group of R1b1a1a1a1b4 that breaks down into L21 (see all Greek!) . I am still working on this part trying to see if I want to break down the L21 into subgroups that are available or wait until more groups come available or more common descendants have test done.

The fun had just begun when I started to search my matches on Family Tree DNA and Ysearch (Free world wide DNA database) http://www.ysearch.org/ I found that my Price family matched no other Price's ever tested in the world. At 37 markers it was a full match to two tested men with the last name Williams and a 37/35 to another. Since the original test I upgraded to a 67 marker test. The Williams men went to 65 to 67 and another person has been tested at the same group. So now I have 4 men named Williams all out of Pee Dee, South Caroline that match my ancestor William Price Sr. (see previous blog) who I know has been in New Brunswick, Canada since 1783.

So far only more questions have arisen than answers and some family members just could not understand how we were not Price's. Very simply it all goes back to before there were surnames. Both families are Welsh and surnames did not come into steady practice until the 1600's (1800's in some rural areas). A full explanation can be found at http://www.terrynorm.ic24.net/welsh%20surnames.htm .

Now it will be a challenge to find when the line splits.

I have a few more DNA test to go, descendants of Peter Watson b. abt 1760 of Woodstock, New Brunswick next and Richard Flynn b. 1865 Ireland, lived Rhode Island and after that. I am hoping to convince a distance Morton cousin to contribute his DNA to find our common ancestor Frances Morton b. 1803 possibly Nova Scotia.

The decision to test is up to you and how far you want to take the testing (and cost) as with the Daniel's I only need a 37 marker test to find what I needed. Unlike the Price's where I have upgraded twice and had tests done for more information on the SNP's. All I can do is re-emphasize educating yourself before you start and be willing to learn something new about your ancestry.

If you have questions feel free to ask, I may not be an expert but I can point you in the right direction.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

For the last 21 years I have been researching my family history and genealogy. It has been an amazing journey and I have learned more about myself from finding my ancestors. I wanted to create a webpage to keep updates and finds attached to my Rootweb.com site but found a Blog suited my need better. I am hoping to do a blog a week on who I am researching, who I am looking for, and maybe even add some research tips. I have done over 100 genealogies for others and I am always willing to help someone who is just starting out or has hit a brickwall.

The genealogies I have gathered can be found the link below. With almost 140,000 names compiled so far, I hope to have many more years to continue my search.

Descendants of William Price and Sally Mason of Kings Co, New Brunswick;

Descendants of Mariner Price 2001

William Price b abt 1750 poss Wales but was living in Pennsylvania just before 1774 and was in New Jersey where he joined the NJ Volunteers a Loyalist unit in the Revolutionary War. His father was possibly also named William Price, and he may have had a brother who served with him, Joseph Price. He married Sally Mason who is said to have been born in England but I only have that as a side note, I have never found the source of that information. He arrived with 4 children and his wife in Oct 1783 in New Brunswick, Canada. Their children poss James and John, one of these men was either a sailor or a Ship Captain. Edward Price was the 3rd born son and I have little on him but know he had a son named Edward Price, Jr and was alive in 1861 living in Kent Co, New Brunswick. Margaret Price the only known daughter married John Coates. The only children known to be born in New Brunswick were William and Tyler Price are all listed on my site above.

The given name Tyler or Tyle is used in many generations of this family. I expect someday I will find it is a Maiden name of an ancestor but no luck so far.

This family lived in Kings Co, New Brunswick, Canada per land grants. William and Sally both lived to be at least 90 years old and died in Kings Co, NB. After their deaths many of their descendants left Kings Co. William, Edward and Margaret went to Kent Co, NB and Tyler immigrated to Ontario with is family. I find most people have Tyler born in New York but I have never found this, the sources found all show he was born in NB including the 1861 Ontario Census.

My Ancestor William Price, Jr and his wife Sarah Cushing lived in Washington Co, Maine in 1820 and had 1 female child with them. I have no information on her or if she lived to adult hood. *Many have William Price, Jr b abt 1789 born in Cooper, Washington Co, Maine. No where in my research other than living in Maine in 1820 did I find any support to this information. He may have been living in Cooper when he married Sarah on 30 Mar 1819 in Shediac, Westmorland Co, New Brunswick but in every source he is listed as being born NB. Sarah on the other hand we know was born in Pembroke, Washington Co, Maine.

William and Sarah had at least 11 children, possibly 12 or more, with the addition of Thomas Price who is in Kent Co, NB in 1853 when he married a Jane Jackson. No other information has ever been found on Thomas at this time but I believe he is part of this group. If he is not the son of William than he is the son of Edward Price.
William settled on the Mclaughlin Rd, Kent Co, New Brunswick, what is now Coates Mills, NB

Church and Graveyard at Coates Mills, New Brunswick

Elijah Price (William Jr, William,Sr) b abt 1821 in NB died before 1855 leaving a wife, Sarah Abrams/Abraham and several small children. Sarah re-marries shortly after Elijah's death, Nathan Stiles, and it seems all of her children are living with other families. Only a daughter Hannah Price is raised by a known family members as the adopted daughter of James William Bell and Hannah Price, Elijah's younger sister. I believe I am missing several children from this family as they are married in 1841 and I only have 4 known children before Elijah's death. Their children were Elizabeth Jane (Betsey), Joseph, Sarah Ann and Hannah.

Elizabeth and Joseph both went to Michigan, Joseph stayed but Elizabeth and her husband John Friars returned to New Brunswick. Daughter Sarah Ann married her 2nd cousin John Edward Coates. Grandson of Margaret Price (William Sr) and John Coates

Another son, James Price marries Sarah Jane Morton (the sister of my ancestor, see below), very little is known about the family but then names of their children and a very interesting newspaper article from the Boston Herald that was picked up by the St. John Globe;

Date May 14 1884
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Saint John Globe

Boston 'Herald' - James F. PRICE pleaded guilty to polygomy and was sentenced to the house of correction for seven months. Price who came from Dundas, N.B. stated to the court that his brother wrote to him that his first wife, whom he married in 1857, was dead, and acting on this information he married a second time, supposing that he was a free man.

I have very little doubt that this is the same James listed above. He is not with his wife in 1891 New Brunswick and I believe I find him married in Massachusetts at one point. I have spoken to the Archives in NB and they have no divorce listed for James and Sarah. I was told it was very rare and expensive as it had to go before Parliament. I also spoke to the Law Library in Massachusetts and they found no record of the trial. I will keep searching and have a few more options on the trail and jail information.

Lastly, my ancestor William Price b. abt 1829 in NB married Elizabeth Ann (Betsey) Morton. They had as many as 11 children but most likely more. I only know of only 6 that lived to adulthood. William died before 1881 as Elizabeth is remarried to a Jeremiah McRae in the census. In 1891 Elizabeth is a widow listed as Elizabeth Price. I have never found what happened to Jeremiah. This family seems to have been very poor, their home is listed as a Shanty in the 1871 Moncton, NB census. Elizabeth is said to have died in Boston, Massachusetts in or around 1929 but a search was made a few years ago and no one matching her information was found. I think she may have died years before that because several of her children's death cerf she is only listed as Morton with no first name.

No graves have been found for any of my direct Price ancestors. There is a small graveyard on Rt. 126 in Gallagher Ridge, Westmorland Co, New Brunswick that some refer to the Old Price Cemetery. There are no stones and no records that I can find. It is possible that several generations are buried there.

The photo at the top is at a 2001 reunion of the descendants of Mariner J. Price and Sarah Jane Leaman. Mariner was the son of Ephraim Price, son of William and Elizabeth (Morton) Price. There were appx. 120 of us in this photo from just this one line. Ephraim Price Married Sarah Elizabeth Price (surprisingly no relation).
In the next blog I will be adding information of the DNA testing that has been done on this line.

If you have something to add or a question please feel free to contact me. This is my first blog so if grammar or typo are here please excuse it as I become more comfortable with this format.